Something special
by Kyra-sensei
Summary: It took me 22 years to realize my feelings for the Skeleton man, and even though I am as happy as ever, I have never been more afraid.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note; Hey guys, it's my first SP story, so please bear with me. Please review and tell me what you think.**

Chapter one

_I was running. I ran through the forest, scared that I was going to trip or that I was going to be caught, but what I was I running from? Who was I running from? Why was I scared? I was so confused that I was running and that I couldn't remember what I was running from. Just as I lost concentration on my path, I tripped over a large, hard log and went tumbling down the hill. _

_I could hear things crunch and I wished that it wasn't my bones because me body had become so numb from the cold that I probably wouldn't feel it if it was my bones. Thankfully my black clothes protected more than usual, but even with those, I couldn't escape everything painful. As I tumbled, my body rolled and twisted and I rammed into a few trees too. Soon after I was dizzy and nauseous._

_How steep was this stupid hill? I just wouldn't stop tumbling. After a while I came to a stop and hit the ground hard, I fell on my face. I could feel warm liquid tickling down my face, my arms, my neck and my leg, but thank goodness nothing was broken. I continued to run but I was very disorientated from the dizziness. That's what I get for letting my thought wonder. Stupid me. _

_I came to a stop as soon as I saw the ocean. A man stood in it. It wasn't really a man, it was ugly, white and … and … I looked closer. It was a … a … vampire! I could see that it was a vampire, but how was that possible? Salt water kills Vampires, how could this be? I couldn't make myself scream as it came toward me with a sneer on it's ugly face. Where was he? I tried to call for him but my voice was gone. _

_I tried screaming as it came closer but my efforts were in vain. I tried running but I was glued to the floor. I tried closing my eyes, wanting not to see its ugly face but my eyes wouldn't even blink. It came closer and closer and closer, very soon it was right in front on me. I tried to scream again. Nothing. This time I tried to scream his name. _

I bolted up in my bed with sweat on my face and realised that I really did scream his name. He ran into the room toward me.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He asked; his voice filled with worry. Most of the time, Skulduggery wouldn't show a lot of emotion but it seemed, with me, it just slipped. I could see that Skull really did care about me. I usually didn't call him Skull but since I turned 21 I just found a real liking for the name. I took a deep breath.

"It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." I reassured him warmly. I could see him relax – even though he was just bone, I had gotten really good at telling everything about him, he was my best friend after all. He sat down next to me.

"What happened?" He asked me.

As I told him the story, I could see that he was considering it and listening intently. I smiled at his dedication toward me. I had gotten really fond of him. I really did love him, but I couldn't really decide if it was a romantic love or a brotherly love. My feelings for him were really confusing actually. Whenever he touched me – not very often – I would get Goosebumps, my skin would tingle and it would feel really hot on my skin, as if I were on fire. I always wanted to see him and I always wanted to hear his voice.

It seems a little strange feel such a way because he is my teacher after all, but he is also my partner, we solve crimes together. Now to think of it, I hadn't really considered the way I love him, all I knew was that I loved him irrevocable, but I told myself that it was understandable because you grow attached to someone after so many years of friendship and partnership. I always told myself that I love him but I never considered if it was romantically or not.

"Do you think it means anything?" He asked. I was very grateful to him for breaking my thoughts; they were starting to worry me.

"It was just a dream Skull." I calmed him. What if I was romantically in love with him? Would he feel the same way? Of course not! This is Skulduggery we're talking about for goodness sake.

"I know Valkyrie, but what if it wasn't? You know this world Valk, it might be something." His voice was sincere. Yes, I knew what he meant, I knew this world. We live in a more dangerous world then people realize. A world filled with magic, dark and light, good and bad. Skull and I knew this world up close and personal. Strange but true, heck this world is strange, it's the strangest, people just don't realize that either.

"I know Skull, we know. I might be, it might not be, we'll just have to wait and see." 'Wait and see', how many meanings did that one sentence have? We'll wait and see where our relationship goes? We'll wait and see if I love you romantically? We'll wait and see if I've got more strange nightmares? We'll wait and see if this is one of those 'end of the world' situations? How many meanings did that sentence have?

Maybe it meant all of those, maybe even I was doing these things subconsciously. It was true of course; we would just have to wait and see …

**Authors note; Hey guys, thanks to those who read this story. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: Thank you to those who have read my story and have reviewed. I hope this next chapter will be good. Please tell me what you think.**

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**I don't own SP.**

**Chapter two**

_I was running. I ran through the forest, scared that I was going to trip or that I was going to be caught, but what I was I running from? Who was I running from? Why was I scared? I was so confused that I was running and that I couldn't remember what I was running from. Just as I lost concentration on my path, I tripped over a large, hard log and went tumbling down the hill._

_I could hear things crunch and I wished that it wasn't my bones because me body had become so numb from the cold that I probably wouldn't feel it if it was my bones. Thankfully my black clothes protected more than usual, but even with those, I couldn't escape everything painful. As I tumbled, my body rolled and twisted and I rammed into a few trees too. Soon after I was dizzy and nauseous._

_How steep was this stupid hill? I just wouldn't stop tumbling. After a while I came to a stop and hit the ground hard, I fell on my face. I could feel warm liquid tickling down my face, my arms, my neck and my leg, but thank goodness nothing was broken. I continued to run but I was very disorientated from the dizziness. That's what I get for letting my thought wonder. Stupid me._

_I came to a stop as soon as I saw the ocean. A man stood in it. It wasn't really a man, it was ugly, white and … and … I looked closer. It was a … a … vampire! I could see that it was a vampire, but how was that possible? Salt water kills Vampires, how could this be? I couldn't make myself scream as it came toward me with a sneer on its ugly face. Where was he? I tried to call for him but my voice was gone._

_I tried screaming as it came closer but my efforts were in vain. I tried running but I was glued to the floor. I tried closing my eyes, wanting not to see its ugly face but my eyes wouldn't even blink. It came closer and closer and closer, very soon it was right in front on me. I tried to scream again. Nothing. This time I tried to scream his name._

_Something was different however, I couldn't close my eyes and so I saw who this vampire really was. My spine felt like ice and my face was plastered in fear and shock. How could this be? Was this possible? _

_**This can't be true! Please don't be true! **__I begged as I looked into its eyeless sockets. __**This isn't possible! This can't be! **__I screamed in my head, a voice that just refused to resurface. Apparently it was possible since it really was happening. Shock was replaced with utter fear as my adoration for this mutant creature disintegrated into nothing but fear and disgust. _

_This vampire – I didn't want to say or think it – was Skulduggery. The man I loved so confusedly. The man I didn't truly know my feelings for. Why was this happening? Why me? _

_I tried to scream, to move, to do anything but my body was a solid as if I were curved out of rock. The Skulduggery Vampire closed in toward me, and instead of forest and hill behind me, it was a brick wall, preventing me further from moving – not that I was going any where anyway. He forced me against the solid brick wall. I couldn't cry and I couldn't scream, so I just stared as Skulduggery opened his already bony mouth – teeth replaced with fangs – and came toward me. I was so scared and I couldn't do anything about it. I felt betrayed but the feeling didn't stay there as he continued to move his mouth toward me._

_I felt the fangs pierce my delicate skin and a feeling came that I didn't expect would come. It felt like poison, like acid streaming into and vaporising my blood. It hurt so much and the pain just continued as his teeth stayed in the skin of my neck. It was so unfair; I couldn't move or do anything, but I could feel everything and not do anything about it. Tears started to form in my dark eyes but they refused to spill as the pain just worsened. Seconds later – after it felt like forever – I was consumed in pain, but not just the acidic burn of the venom, but the painful transformation and relocation of my bones and skin as I became one of them …_

My scream pierced the silence of the room and of the night air outside my open window. Panting, crying and covered in sweat, I took in my surroundings and tried to convince myself that it was only a dream, but I swore that I could still feel the sting in my neck, in my blood, in my bones, on my skin. I hated this version of my dream, of my nightmare, and would much rather have the other one. Within seconds, Skulduggery burse through the door and came running to me with concern plastered all over his bony face.

I moved – more like jumped – away from him as the images still roamed my violated mind. He reached out for me but I flinched away from his touch as I remember the pain I felt when he touched me in the dream.

"Val, what's wrong?"

As I heard the concern in his voice, I forgot about the dream and focused on him. I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I cried into his coat for about an hour before I could speak. Skulduggery – as usual – was calm and let me cry into him while he just held me. This was not the first time he had held me like this, as was it not the first time that I had had a severe nightmare that left me scarred. Though none were as bad as the one just had just entered my thoughts and my imagination. It didn't surprise me that I would dream or imagine something so vulgar and cruel to my mind. It didn't surprise me because after all my years with Skull on those cases … well, I had enough reason to become crazy, if I wasn't already, I didn't know.

After I composed myself and sat back down on my messy bed, he looked at me as if he could see the answer written in my face – which he probably could considering how I did it to him all the time.

"Was it the same dream?" He asked me in confirmation. I could feel the tears resurface before I nodded. I didn't trust my voice; after so much crying and recent sleep without anything to drink, I was bound to sound like a frog.

"What was different about it?"

You see, told you, he read me just as well as a book, but for this question I would have to use my voice.

"I noticed that you weren't as hurt or as scared as you were before, two nights ago." He noted. Has there really bee a difference? Of course there had been, the first time, I didn't jerk away from his presence and I didn't flinch away at his reach. I – reluctantly – explained to him the details of the new dream. As before, he listened intently and put great thought into it. After I was finished, I had started crying again and he returned to comfort me as before, just to let me cry into his neck and shoulder.

Skulduggery was not known for his … emotions, instead he was known for his talent in detective work and magic. The reason being was because he showed to be nothing but stoic in front of everyone, but this compassion toward me, was nothing new. He had a soft spot for me, I knew it, everyone knew it. Even though everyone knew it, he still refused to show so much compassion and emotion in front of them. I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only one who saw him like this, because he sure didn't change much over the last few years. He just stayed the same.

"Val?" He said after awhile of silence. I looked up at his concerned face.

"Yes?" I said in a voice that was still croaked – as predicted.

"Are you okay?" His voice was sincere and I loved it. His sincerity toward me was one of the biggest reasons I knew that he had a soft spot for me. If he was trying to hide it, I didn't know, but if he was, then he was lousy at doing it. Extremely so.

"Yes. No. A little. Not really." My indecisiveness was not uncommon in these situations. I sighed as I really didn't know the answer. He seemed to understand since he started caressing my long, dark hair. I wore nothing but a black tank top and black shorts. My skin was still creamy but it had grown a little darker over the years, not much, but it was there – something I was proud of.

"It's alright. It's always alright when I'm here." And there it was, the little bit of smug and charming that was missing in the situation. I lifted my head slowly and glared at him aggressively. His bony face was plastered in innocence.

"Charming, really." I said while shaking my head and muttered something to myself.

"Naturally." And there was the complete complacency that was missing. I rolled my eyes but laughed. Even when Skull was a pain in the butt, he still knew exactly how to cheer me up and distract me. His methods were a little odd, granted, but there were effective, along with everything else about him.

"Val," He began. My smiling face drifted to his serious yet sympathetic face. "I wasn't kidding about considering that this means something." I lost my happiness and instead replaced it with warning anger.

"Skulduggery Pleasant …" I growled in warning. His bony forehead lifted – it would have furrowed if there were skin there – and he took a step back.

"Valkyrie, just consider seeing someone." He said softly.

"If you are not a vampire and are not planning to cause me pain, to kill me or to turn me into a vampire then I am not going to see anyone! Do you understand?" I asked firmly.

"Yes mom." He muttered. I growled and he realized that I had heard him.

"Um … see ya later." He said and went for the door. He was out before I could say anything more. Instead of shouting after him, I laughed. Yet another strange method that calmed me down and put a smile onto my face. I couldn't stay mad at him, not for anyone, not for anything.

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**Authors note: If there are mistakes, please tell me so that I can fix them. I hoped that you guys enjoyed this chapter, please tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note; Hey guys! Well, here's chapter three. This is going to be a short chapter, so heads up. Enjoy! Please review. P.S. I'm going to change this story to an 'M' rating because there are a few things going to come.**

**I don't own Skulduggery Pleasant.**

**Chapter three**

"_Skulduggery_!" I cried, awakening from my nightmare. Tears were streaming down my sweaty face as I sat upright in my messy bed. He ran into the room and examined everything. Suppressing a sigh, he sat down on my bed, took my hands in his and just looked into my eyes. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak but closed it as he thought about what to say.

"Stephanie," – He didn't call me by my real name unless it was something serous – "You really need to go to someone about this dream. I know – trust me I do – that you feel it's nothing and there is nothing to worry about, but …" His pause was also new, he didn't always do that. "Please Valkyrie … I'm worried about you."

I hated to see him so worried. We – I – had been through so much worse. I had almost been killed several times and even though I could see he was worried then, it was just a dream. I really felt that this dream meant nothing and that it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but … I would go see someone, just for his sake. I didn't want him to be so bothered about this and I would do anything for him.

"Please." He whispered. And now he was pleading, this wasn't good. I had to see someone, and fast. I sighed and looked down at our joined hands.

"Okay Skulduggery, I'll see someone." I said looking up. It looked as if he had a weight lifted off his broad shoulders and I could see his smile. "But," Now he looked weary. "I will see who I want." I could see that he didn't want this, but bearing in mind that I had already agreed in seeing someone, he was willing to let it go for now.

"Thank you Val." He pulled me into a hug. It made me feel strange, almost like butterflies, it brought me to the thought I'd had about how I loved Skulduggery. I hadn't really pondered that further and I didn't have time now because he was nagging me to get myself ready to see someone. He was right though because I didn't want to see anyone with red eyes and sweaty skin. I shooed him out the room and went to my bathroom.

I'd gotten my own house – the reason that Skulduggery was allowed to stay at the house – and it was a reasonable size. Two stories, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen and a lounge. I'd given one of the rooms to Skulduggery but since he doesn't sleep, there was no reason for him to have it. I gave the room to him for whenever he wanted to come and visit, however ever since I had been having the dreaded nightmares, he had temporarily moved. I found it very sweet, although it would be sweeter if there were more to lose. I had been planning something though; something I hoped would bring him much joy. I wanted to give him his skin and blood back. For him to be human again.

My double bed was centred in the middle of the room and was made with white linen. On each side of my soft bed stood a wooden bedside table. My window was at the left of the room and the door was opposite my bed. My desk and dressing table stood next to each other on the left right of the room. My bathroom was on the left, next to the door coming in. Walking into the bathroom, I almost tripped but I caught myself on the toilet on my right. I looked back to see what I had tripped over but there was nothing there. I shook my head of it and straightened up.

As I took another step forward I felt no ground under my feet. Butterflies rushed through me as I fell into someone's arms under ground. I knew who it was without looking; Sanguine. I barely managed a scream before the ground closed up and we were moving. I didn't scream because I was scared – not that I wasn't – but for Skulduggery to know that something had happened to me. I just hoped that he would find me before something too bad would happen.

The ground passed around me and I struggled for air. Just like before, it was too long before I surfaced into a dark room. Sanguine held me so I couldn't move. There was a dim light above me that didn't light up the whole room. Narrowing my eyes and holding my breath, a man walked slowly from the dark side of the room. He kept his face in the dark as he greeted me.

"Hello Valkyrie. It's nice to see you." He greeted. My eyes widened as I recognised the voice and saw the face that came into view. My hopes for Skulduggery to rescue me became larger and more desperate.

**Authors note; so much suspense. Woops, wonder who it is … Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! Enjoy, please review!**


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